


ambient noise

by fangedangel (clockworkqueen)



Series: after the storm (post tlj stories) [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Fandom, The Last Jedi
Genre: Gen, Hux is a Nazi lol, TLJ Spoilers, The Last Jedi Spoilers, force projecting, force skype, post last jedi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-15
Packaged: 2019-02-15 07:02:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clockworkqueen/pseuds/fangedangel
Summary: he is lost. he is not lost. he is lost. he is not lost. not yet.Rey shields her thoughts from Ben, but for some reason, her own won't stray too far from him.





	ambient noise

Closing herself off from him was one of the hardest things Rey has ever done. 

He is lost, she whispered to herself whenever her thoughts drifted toward him. Ben Solo is no more. 

Yet. 

Rey made sure to keep busy. Though The First Order would have to rebuild before coming after them, finding the Resistance an undetectable home wasn’t easy. Their search took them to the Outer Rim, no planet just right. 

Leia took the opportunity to recruit, her presence alone inspiring hope, like always. The recruits had to be taught so much. Rey should be busy. She should have no time to think of him. 

Yet. 

When long days were finally done, and there was some semblance of quiet aboard the aircraft, Rey allowed her thoughts to wander. The quiet made her miss the island, and the time she spent with Luke Skywalker. It cleared her mind, but equally allowed fragments of him to enter. 

She refused to open up to him, to let him see her. Rey knows he would only need to see her face to sense her conflicted mind. 

Sometimes, she sensed him in passing. Never enough to truly see his surroundings or expression, but him nonetheless. She heard the clinging of metal, or a shout. She saw the white boot of a stormtrooper, or him running a hand through the back of his hair in frustration; the hand she’d been offered twice. 

Rey wondered what he sensed. The sound of BB-8 rolling across the aircraft, maybe. Or two sticks colliding as she trains with Finn. She is sure he sees her just before sleep, when the lights are out, and he couldn’t see her even if he wanted to. 

*

It is during a routine food gathering mission when Rey finally sees all of him. They’re on a chilly planet, without much life, aside from the abundance of fish in the cold, dark lakes. There’s just a few of them on these short expedition.  
Rey drives a staff into the water to spear the fish, much like how Luke taught her. A little ways down the water, she sees Finn and Poe laughing and shoving one another, bringing a smile to her face. Finn looks over, sensing her gaze. His smile is warm, and Rey considers joining them. There’s not much time for fun aboard the aircraft, and the planet is relatively safe. 

It starts to snow. 

Rey looks up, the dusting falling on to her face, gathering on her eyelashes. A cold wind blows through her, and it has nothing to do with the snow as all her hair stands on end. She starts to worry about her friends, but she knows in her heart that it’s not them in danger. She turns around. 

Ben stands in front of her. 

He looks much of the same as the last time she saw him. His body is tense, but strong as ever. His dark hair blows out of his face, exposing a wild look in his eyes that Rey knows her own mirror. 

“So you feel it too,” he says, before Rey can get words out. 

She pauses. There’s so many things she could say to him, could yell at him. Rey wants to hold his hand, wants to put her fist through his face. But the danger hasn’t gone away yet. “Yes,” she settles on. “I…” Rey feels around her surroundings with the Force. “It must be you. I can’t feel anything out of the ordinary here.” 

Ben cocks his head to the side. “So why did the Force bring us together,” he asks, but it’s not really a question with an answer. Anger flares up in Rey. 

“This better not be a trap like last time,” her hand goes for her saber on instinct, though he knows she will not use it against him. Not now. 

He moves toward her quickly, stopping just a hair away from her. “When it came down to it, I didn’t kill you.”

His scar has healed considerably, just present enough to make others fear him. Rey doesn’t. “Do you want to?”

Before he can answer, the sound of crunching metal startles them both. They go for their lightsabers in unison, and it’s like Rey can see everything and nothing at once. She’s in a control room on a large aircraft, Ben by her side. 

The door has been blasted in, a small army of stormtroopers march toward them. General Hux leads the way. He looks calm, but Rey can sense the fear on him. This is a coup. Ben leans against the controls calmly, no worry or fear on his face. He turns to her, and Rey knows that he’s been expecting this. 

“Kylo Ren,” Hux begins. But before he can continue speaking, he is lifted into the air, Ben using the Force to stop him from breathing. The troopers had been expecting this, and began shooting in his direction. None of the blaster shots make it anywhere near him. 

“Rey,” Ben says aloud, startling her. “Would you like to do the honors? Hux has overstayed his welcome in this world.” 

Rey turns to him, puzzled. “I can’t, Ben. I’m not actually here, remember?”

“Take out your saber,” he says, ignoring the use of his given name. “Use the Force, and will it. You want to kill him, don’t you? You have to want it.” 

God, she wanted it. Hux’s cruelty was well known across the galaxy. He has never known mercy, simply because he wanted to inflict hurt on innocent people. 

Rey pulls out her lightsaber, and closes her eyes. Taking a deep breath, and focusing herself, she drives the blade through the still floating Hux. She cuts him clean in half. 

She opens her eyes, shocked that it actually worked. 

“Don’t regret it,” Ben barks, already sensing her doubt. She’d never enjoyed killing, but taking out Hux was too good of an opportunity to let slip away. 

Rey meets his eyes, her voice clear. “I don’t. What’s next?” 

Ben shrugs. “I don’t know. Go home, Rey. Your friends are worried sick.” To her surprise, he reaches out, offering his hand for her to shake. 

She shakes her head. “Not yet.” 

*  
Finn and Poe haven’t looked at her the same since she told them about what happened with Ben. 

Poe and Rose were very obvious with it, eyes unforgiving as they looked at her. Finn was more empathetic. 

She’d always been able to relate to Finn the most out of anyone she’d met in the Resistance. They were there for one another, with no judgement. Growing up with no family, and so little love had scarred them in ways Rey was sure she’d only continue to discover. 

After spending so much time using the Force to project her into the control room, Rey was exhausted. Finn kept her company as they rested on her sleeping mat, Finn resting his head on her shoulder as he listened to her. 

“I trust your instincts,” Finn decided eventually. “They’ve never betrayed you before. But be careful, please?” 

Rey nodded. “Stop worrying.”

“I will when you do,” he pointed out, grinning. 

The smile wouldn’t leave Rey’s face for quite some time. Finn leaves her eventually to play cards with Rose and Poe. She feels a little alone, but she can’t face Rose and Poe quite yet. 

Before Rey can even think about blocking him, Ben appears next to her on the sleeping pallet. 

She sighs, rolling over to face him. “Why are we doing this, Ben? We’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. I am not going to the Dark, and you aren’t going to the Light.”

“Who said we have to go anywhere?” Ben looks away like he is unsure about his next words. Uncertainty is a foreign look on him, and Rey finds she doesn’t like it. 

But Ben’s face hardens. “You’re not alone, Rey. Never.” 

Rey gasps quietly, surprised. He’d heard her thoughts. A flood of emotions rush through her, and she can’t help but grab his hand from where it is on her makeshift bed. Rey holds Ben’s hand in both of hers, and she thinks he almost smiles. 

There is still so much to discuss. The First Order, the Resistance. What would become of the two of them? But in that moment, all those thoughts slipped away as Rey felt Ben open his mind to her. 

He is not lost. Not yet.

**Author's Note:**

> im hungry and only ever satiated by reviews 
> 
> also I've never written sw besides one smol rogue one fic so pls lemme know


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